As a leading fintech company, Kraken is at the forefront of remote-friendly, highly secure, collaborative applications that empower our people to asynchronously collaborate. We utilize a combination of recognized tools to maintain efficient, asynchronous internal communication, and only schedule thoughtful and intentional meetings during ‘live hours’ for verbal collaboration. As a remote-first company, we understand the importance of mitigating fatigue, so place no expectations for our Krakenites to join meetings on camera.
To accelerate our Krakenite’s professional development we create clear workflows and streamline internal processes so that operational tasks and deadlines can be effectively managed. To do this, we’ve integrated tools to provide visibility and accountability to team members while ensuring DRIs (directly responsible individuals) can lead a project’s progress. As such, according to an internal company survey, 85% of our Krakenites feel empowered to make decisions to best serve their team.
Our Krakenites also collaborate on a daily basis in our wide range of internal collaboration channels. These act as small communities of like minded people, and facilitate a continuous flow of knowledge and expertise across the company. Many of our c-suite are also active in these channels and frequently weigh in on discussions. We have a very open-door policy for Krakenites to approach industry-leading subject matter experts, including our c-suite members, who are active and frequently participate in discussions.
Our Krakenites truly have crypto conviction. Not only is there a clear internal consensus that the broader crypto ecosystem will ultimately succeed, but an overwhelming majority see Kraken as a vital gateway for future participants to interact with digital assets. According to an internal survey, 87% of Krakenites believe the business has an outstanding future ahead of it, and 85% are highly likely to recommend working at Kraken to friends and family. We believe this is because of our unique mission-based approach to accelerate the global adoption of crypto assets – striving to realize our shared vision of helping the world achieve financial freedom and inclusion.
With a distributed model, we have Krakenites living and working in more than 60+ countries and speaking more than 50 languages. This globally inclusive approach positions us to hire some of the best and brightest minds based on merit, regardless of proximity to a recognized tech hub – such as Silicon Valley. Our teams, which are built to cover all corners of the planet, have a strong foundation of respect for each other. By cultivating a globally inclusive company culture, we avoid becoming fixated on local or regional cultural differences that create divisions. Instead, we choose to embrace the uniqueness of each other while also recognizing the commonalities that bring us together.
Furthermore, the asynchronous nature of our working patterns naturally breaks down formal structures which can crowd out voices across a company. Our internal communications team has a dedicated listening strategy to ensure all Krakenites, regardless of level, geographic location etc, have sufficient means to bring their ideas to the forefront. For example, we have run regular skip level surveys and engagement pulses that inform the focus of our monthly leader Ask Me Anything sessions, as well as company wide All Hands meetings.
A foundation of our employee experience is providing Krakenites with the tools to personally and professionally grow through our multifaceted holistic upskilling program. From the moment a new hire joins us, they undertake an extensive onboarding process to help them start their journey on the front foot. Our dedicated Learning and Development team also holds open daily forums with some of the smartest minds in the crypto industry to enhance the employee experience and strengthen crypto expertise at Kraken. To demonstrate Kraken’s commitment to our teammates’ career goals, it’s worth highlighting that in 2023, we had nearly 400 internal role changes and promotions.
In terms of departmental leadership, it’s also noteworthy that a large majority of managers and directors at Kraken were once individual contributors in entry-level support roles, and have been developed and entrusted with leadership positions. For example, in our Client Engagement (CE) department, over 70% of our supervisors and team leads began their tenure at Kraken in client-facing support roles. At a manager level, approximately 50% of our department managers have grown into their roles having started out as either support specialists or supervisors. Whether the specialists on our CE team want to grow within the department or in other departments – we strive to give them the choice and optionality, with our ‘free-to-move’ policy for those that want to join other departments. As a result, we had several of our CE team members transfer into other departments over the last year, including roles in finance, HR, marketing, engineering, and more.
Over the past 12 years, Kraken has built a distinct remote-first culture alongside its crypto-first values. In 2022, we released our Kraken Culture doc that dove deep into our globally inclusive culture and made our values abundantly clear to the wider world. We share this as required reading for all prospective candidates several times before their first interview, and use this to prioritize candidates during the hiring process who are passionate about ensuring the crypto ecosystem succeeds. These candidates usually align with our company values and genuinely enjoy working with us to improve the industry.
We’ve found that our intensely mission-driven culture naturally correlates to high levels of employee engagement. A recent internal survey found that nearly 81% of our Krakenites are engaged with their work, compared to only 31% of workers in a Gartner survey from June 2023. However, most importantly, 94% of our Krakenites, recognize how their day to day work is impacting the broader success of the company. We believe it’s vital for our people to understand how their contribution towards building industry-leading products and services will advance our company mission. Our teams all row in the same direction, towards the same goal, with everyone understanding their role in producing a successful operation.
Link to our Kraken Culture document – https://kraken-culture.notion.site/
Our employee experience centers around a core belief that people perform best when they have flexibility, trust, and the freedom to excel. We believe this, combined with the specific program details below, ladder up to a positive workplace that Krakenites enjoy working at. Our approach seems to be working, as 84% of Krakenites feel they belong at Kraken, with over 75% of our Krakenites stating they would like to stay with the organization for at least 3 years.
We understand that employee performance is at its best when people are given the resources and support to stay happy and healthy, wherever they are – both in and out of work. For this reason, and to ensure each new Krakenite begins their time with us on the right foot, we provide a generous stipend to help build an office set-up that meets an individual’s working needs. We also supplement this with a monthly allowance for Krakenites to spend on anything, at their individual discretion, that will enhance their general health and wellness.
We also recognize health and wellness requires ongoing support, which is why we employ professional, in-house fitness, nutrition and wellness specialists. These experts provide tailored advice and plans to help our people reach their personal and professional goals. Some host daily, weekly and monthly sessions or challenges that bring together a community of like minded individuals at the company. Others run guided sessions, such as a daily meditation session or our monthly wellness happy hour, that allow Krakenites to temporarily disconnect from work and focus on self-care and stress management.
For those who don’t wish to participate in group activities, we also have a range of 1-1 resources, such as a free wellness app which delivers company-sponsored counseling and life coaching sessions. Our in-house specialists also share their knowledge and tips in open communications channels for all Krakenites to utilize when time permits, and are available for 1-1 coaching sessions upon request.
Both Jesse Powell (Kraken’s Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder) and David Ripley (Kraken’s CEO) embody the values of the Kraken organization and the broader cryptocurrency industry. In their own right, each is a pioneer of the cryptocurrency movement and are committed to improving the world through the accelerated adoption of crypto assets.
For example, Jesse personally authored Kraken’s cultural document, which was released in June 2022, to realign our internal company culture and the shared values we expect for existing and prospective Krakenites. Jesse has spent over a decade in the crypto industry, launching Kraken in 2011, and has since become a recognized thought leader for the crypto movement. Likewise, David has been pivotal to designing and implementing Kraken’s Mission, and distilling our company values into accessible language for others to adopt. David, and the rest of the c-suite team at Kraken, actively advocate for the adoption of this transformative technology. Since our realignment, we’ve seen a surge in Krakenites understanding and rallying behind our mission. At our most recent internal survey, over 95% of Krakenites noted that they had a deep understanding of our values and how these can be embodied in day-to-day work.
Link to Kraken’s Culture document – https://kraken-culture.notion.site/
With the employee experience as a foundational pillar, we offer comprehensive compensation packages that rewards our Krakenites for their daily efforts. Because we believe our Krakenites should be aligned with the company vision, nearly all of our team members receive equity options. This is combined with globally competitive remuneration, generous (flexible) paid time off, a holistic wellness program, an ergonomic bonus to equip new hires for a personalized home office setup, and performance-based bonus programs.
Finally, given our mission to revolutionize financial services, Kraken’s most unique benefit is the opportunity for Krakenites to accept their payment in different currencies, including Bitcoin and several other cryptocurrencies. Some Krakenites receive their entire salary in crypto, and 35% of our Krakenites choose to accept a partial amount in crypto with the remaining allocation in fiat currencies (such as the US dollar).
Founded in 2011, Kraken’s mission is to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency, so that everyone can achieve financial freedom and inclusion. With more than 2,300 team members spanning more than 60+ countries, Kraken is at the forefront of driving mainstream adoption by making sure crypto is understood and easily accessible. As one of the world’s largest and most trusted digital asset exchanges, Kraken is consistently named one of the best places to buy and sell cryptoassets online. Thanks to the excellent efforts of our Krakenites, we’re able to offer our 10 million global clients consistently high client service, low fees, versatile funding options and rigorous security standards.
For more information about Kraken, please visit www.kraken.com.
As a remote-first company, we do not have a physical company HQ and have no plans to establish one.
Financial Services
David Ripley
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